Copywriter vs Content Mill: The Case Against Cheap Copy

Guys

I wrote this article and it's got a good reception from a few copywriters. I'm tired of the supposed clients that want me to write an article for $5 and having this on my site and as a mission statement might help weed a few of them out before I have to deal with them.

It has also struck a chord with a good few writers. So I hope you like it too!

http://covert-copywriting.com/copywriter-vs-content-mill-case-cheap-copy/

 

I enjoyed reading this. it contains unavoidable truths. interestingly, however, I have found that those who know don't need to read something like this, and those who don't will never get it.

There are excetions on both sides, but a "good" client is a savvy business person and they've come to understand that you can't pee into a Mr. Coffee and get Taster's Choice. And there will always be those idiots who want great copy, perfectly optimized and to be #1 in their market for a whopping $100 investment.

if there weren't dumb business people, the cream couldn't rise to the top, could it?

 

You're right, of course, there is a part of me that is just howling at the moon here. But if just one person thinks about their $5 copy, or their $100 website, and decides to invest in proper copy, then I've done something useful with my time.

It has also made me a few new friends.

 

Guess it all depends on how much you know about the topic, I could easily write 3000 or more words an hour on my niche.....

even at $5 per 500 words, I am making $30 an hour.........That is KINDA way better then the UNITED STATES min wage which is $7.25

You should write a blog post to Washington to raise the min wage LOL

 

No offence, I'm sure you think that's a reasonable response. It isn't. You might be able to write 3000 words in one hour. But if you try and establish that as an hourly rate then you're certifiable. You cannot do it every single hour of every single day. Otherwise you'd write a novel every four days.

Incidentally by my notoriously poor maths then 3000 words divided by 60 mins is 50 words a minute, which is transcribing speed. That is not writing, that is not thinking. It is hammering keys as fast as the human body can manage.

You cannot produce 50 words a minute for every hour of the working day. If you'd like to dispute it, then I want to see it happen.

 

Excellent article, Covert Copywriter. I circled you on G+ and tweeted the link to your article.
With all the recent Google updates, obviously content mills are a liability.
It makes good sense to study blogs like Brian Clark's Copyblogger. Quality writing will be rewarded. Brian Clark offers top-notch free articles, and his paid materials are even better. Check out his Authority course.

Copyblogger offers fifteen free ebooks. They are hard hitting and very very informative. Copyblogger always overdelivers exemplary quality.

I'll be reading your blog from now on. I really enjoyed that article! Your writing style encourages me to know, like, and trust you. That's the key to success.

 

You cannot be serious right?

There are local jobs in my town NEW YORK, that require people to type 120+ a min.

Our High Schools teach kids to type 80+ a minute.

here is a post from 8 years ago, when technology sucked.... like no inferred keyboard, no SWIPE on devices,



I am not sure how you are "typing" ( maybe with an actual typewriter? ) but with swipe, and a tablet, 120+ words a minute is possible........


MORE FACTS

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/11/new-ios-swiping-keyboard-capable-of-120wpm-speeds/





VIDEO FOR YOU



Typing at 140 WPM (100% Accuracy)

 

I know you are probably looking for people to jump on you client bashing bandwagon but Just some feedback-

You refer to potential clients as “come back when they’re ready to sit at the grown-up table” Which give impression that you think of yourself as much bigger and greater then any potential customers.
“I know some of them are too embarrassed to come back with a mouthful of humble pie“ When they don't comeback you stoke your ego by believing they are to “humbled” ?
"This is my attempt to educate clients" You are so above clients you "attempt to educate" them ?

-Your writing did not keep me reading I found it very poor with a cocky agro under tone.
-The pics in your article/rant look like they were hijacked from google images without credit to the photographers.
-You talk down about potential clients like they are bratty little kids that are stupid.

Sadly I really don't see your freelance career going very far.

 

Ouch. Although some good points. I think, tho, that Covert was expressing views not neccesarily intendd for clients. Many writers have this same problem. I do think, as I said earlier, that the cream always rises to the top, on both sides.

If I have any frustration regarding some clients it is that they hire a professional and then want to argue about every point. if they knew how to craft quality content, they wouldn't need a writer. But by using good diplomacy, you can often come to a compromise and actually teach them something.

it's not that clients are stupid, or arrogant, it's just that like all of us, they're entrepreneurs and should have a strong view of what they want and where they want to go. Sometimes technical people forget about the human side, and I think as writers, whose job it is to help them sell, we have to remind of that as gently as we can

 

You can't reason with $5 clients. They're always going to value content at $5 and no case study will sway them differently. A client should never pay you less just because you work fast. A writer being paid less than usual isn't as motivated to complete at their optimal level.

Every single time I tell a client that I wish their business well but can't write for their pricing, they go off to a mill or somewhere like here. One conversation I had recently featured this:

"lol why are writers so greedy? I can just go check my dp inbox where I have ppl offering articles at $2!!!"

Again, I wish them the best of luck on their journey. I've had a point where I had 100 cheap writers on an oDesk account working for me. This isn't one of those "oh, I hired one writer and it didn't work out" type deals. Not a single one of them produced anything coherent and a lot of them had perfect English "samples" they collected from various places. Some of them even had blogs with posts in perfect English on them. A lot of those third language writers know how to trick employers to make them think they're getting someone English.

I cut my losses and moved on. I spent a lot of time on here and other places trying to educate clients on what happens when you hire people for the equivalent of a McDonalds meal. I've given up on that. It's best just to wish someone well with their business and move on, because they will never be persuaded. Those people will never place a value over $5 on their content as long as they think they keep striking gold whenever someone posts "I CAN HAS JOB $2 TO 500 WORD".

Like I've said before:
I know a mechanic who will work on your vehicle for a 40oz bottle of booze. Your vehicle will sit forever and have other crap broken in the process, but at least he's cheap.

I also know a homeless man who offers painting and yard services for cheap. He also keeps getting arrested, because he tries to rob everyone he works for (and he's obviously not very good at it).

Here's what some people don't understand. I've been one of those "budget" .75c to 1.00 writers. You can't sit there and focus on quality or read whatever it is you're typing away. Your first instinct is to get it done as quickly as possible and scramble to find more work.

I currently balance things out between web development and content development. I don't like to call myself an "article writer" or "content writer" because all I can think about when I do are the prices that come with people looking for that. Not to mention, a lot of them want you to personally manage their Wordpress, upload the articles into posts and put featured images into the articles. My favorite is when a $1 perspective client tells you to "take your time and focus on quality".

Stand firm with your pricing and let the bargain hunters hunt.

 

^^^^^^^^ BASED ON YOUR LOGIC ABOVE

The "dollar store" would NEVER exist or would WALMART.....

Take a look around you bro......there is something called "Persona Marketing"

And also all different levels of writing,

Let me give you another example,

BY YOUR own analogies - Everyone should drive a Mercedes right?

I mean why buy a Honda, Ford, Chevy, they are all shit right?

Here is an IDEA for all you haters - IF Someone pays you $5.00 , they obviously do not know the value of text,

So give them $5.00 worth of work. easy as that ,

THINK STARBUCKS - Small - Medium - Large.........

Get OUT OF THE BOX PEOPLE !!!! JESUS ! LOL

PS - Twitter is worth BILLIONS - The content SUX !

 

All true. The real trick is focusing on what you want and not on what you don't. The people that want $1,000 worth of work for $25 can be irritating. But I try to ignore them and instead focus on acquiring customers that know the value of both what I do and what they do.

I reiterate - those that know, know. Those that don't will never know.

 

I would suggest writers work on their own game instead of whining about life at the bottom of the pond.

In the realm of high paying writing jobs, writers have hard earned reputations in very knowledgeable circles, author accounts at the New York Times, Huffinton Post, Tec News, along with personal blogs that rank in cutting edge subjects.

In the realm of DP, writers have Ezine accts maybe..? personal blog with 5 pages, maybe ? 10-20 post on why clients suck and they should pay more.? 2 posts in BTS that are agro and state you "will not work for cheap", no price but "do not message if you are a cheap client" ?

“I am a good writer” is worth very little. Most of the global population says “I am a good writer” You have to create value for your services. Basic writing has very little value that same as any manual labor. It is like say "I am a good cleaner".

All things are comparative. It is easy to be a great writer on DP you just have to spell and make a readable sentence. Wow.. you have made it to the top of the bottom.

If you do not like what a market has to offer go to a better one. Why linger around a market you do not like just to piss on it ? You will not find work like that and it is just wasted energy that could be used to better yourself and work your way up to compete in a better market.

 

AGREED - Make that line a STICKY!

Well said , and knuff said

 

Some good points here, and yours Sundaybrew... At least it sparked a bit of passion and a lively conversation.

Sundaybrew I think it's quite depressing that the only thing you really seized on is what is the actual speed of transcription.

You cannot think properly and plan your work at 50 words per minute. If you think you can, you're both insane and part of the problem. You're feeding the monster that thinks writing is worthless and every point you have made makes me think less of your basic intelligence.

Your life will go on, I am sure, but I'd rather not waste my time talking to you. You want to kid yourself you can make a living from $5 articles? Be my guest.

Corey, it sounds like we'd get along! I am marketing myself more as a marketing consultant than a writer these days, it seems to work out better. Content writer wounds fine, but when there are so many Third World suppliers in the mix it's a nightmare to get noticed.

Averyz, you're entitled to your opinion. My freelance career has gone reasonably well so far, I've spent 15 years writing for the best magazines, newspapers and websites in the world. But now you've said that I'd better go ring my parents and tell them I've failed...

Seriously I'm just finishing up a post about bravery with brands, saying a blog probably should rub some people up the wrong way. if you don't you're vanilla, middle of the road and nobody will remember you. So now I have my first hater, thank you!

 

I have seen guys like you come and go since 2006, but if throwing your nose up at me make you feel more prestigious, then cool.

BUT - I must say my good sir, You are as about closed minded as they come, you really are

God Bless

 

I guess you speed read as well as you write. I have been a journalist since the 90s. You did not see me come and sorry to say I don't think you'll ever catch up with me either.

I am not closed minded. I welcome opinions, but you are talking to all of us like this is stuff we just haven't considered. I have, I wrote in the piece I tried it, but I don't consider it viable for anyone.

You bought up this farcical figure of 3000 words in an hour and I'm afraid to say that if that really is true then you're writing bullshit. Even if theoretically you can hit 140 words per minute, that does not mean you can write an interesting and thought out piece at 50 wpm.

You're an idiot if you're using that as a way to work out a fair hourly rate. No thinking time, no editing time, no time to actually think about where the piece is going. Like I say you're either a genius, which I absolutely doubt, or a freaking moron. I am going for the second option.

 

Do you need to insult people to have a conversation? I have not insulted you; have some respect man,

1) I am not a professional writer. I am a professional internet marketer.

2) I am MERELY trying to make a FACTUAL point, that there is no way in hell, earth or the moon, that you are every going to get rid of the $5.00 articles.

In China, People work and build the IPAD for 0.003 an hour , well, maybe a few cents more,

In America - @ $22.00 an hour, we could NOT find anyone to build such things, for even such high fees, so for cents on the dollar CHINA and other smart nations do it for us.

So my point is, There are markets for both, the cheap and the expensive,

Its awesome you have been writing since the 90's. But this is not 1990.

This is 2014 and its GLOBAL , This forum especially is VERY global.

So, I write fast, I can write super fast about things that are in my head, and with crappy grammar as well.

BUT - In life, its about changing the world for the better,

Call me a moron all you like, It just shows EVERYONE here, even with my fast writing , how effective my words are.

I have nothing to prove, I have no ill will towards you,

You just seems to be talking your frustration within your industry out on a guy who isn't even in your industry

Lighten up man, and chill on the name calling

Smile, it doesn't hurt !

 

You know what? That's much more cohesive point, sorry for being rude you're making much more sense now! It also makes sense you're not a writer, that writing speed discussion baked my brain as it didn't seem to have any relation to the original point. With some context on your background, it makes sense.

You're right the cheap offers aren't going to go away and I am not frustrated that they're there. In the original article you'll see when people try to get me into that price bracket I send them to the content mills and give them an open invitation to return when they've sampled the cheap goods.

So we're probably not as far apart as I first thought! I am a reasonable person, honest!

 

There used to be a lot more familiar faces around here that would take part in discussions like this.

Most of them have all vacated elsewhere and rarely log in anymore. The last "WTB" thread I saw posted here was asking for forum posters. The instructions said: "Invoice me 80 cents when you're done".

There it is!

The requirements? Make 10 posts, 40 words a piece.

My friend asked me, why do you continue to go there? He tried marketing himself here as well but finding high quality clientele in the web development or web design business is impossible here. Everyone wants $5 logos and $3/hourly programming work done. Sure, the code will be messed up, there will be compatibility issues, they'll copy and paste code from other sources, but at least it's cheap!

I stay here because I'm still getting around to setting up a site for writing services. After that point, I probably won't visit the content section at all anymore, I'll put the site in my signature and refer people to there. If they don't like the pricing, then there's plenty of other outlets for them to go to.

Of course cheap pricing isn't ever going away. People only want to pay what they think the content is worth to them. From experience, those clients will go through 100 writers and never change their pricing. It's best to just not deal with them at all or try to change their minds.

It's like my ex landlord. She is a nightmare to work for, only pays minimum wage and sells her products for a ridiculously high price. She's tried hiring cheap web developers to re-build her Microsoft Front Page site, but they all either dodge her work or produce broken crap. She still to this day keeps shifting through cheap foreign web developers because she never learns. Her store never has customers because her price is too high but since her husband fronts her money to stay afloat, that's all that matters to her. Some clients are just like her. They can do what they do for 30 years and never learn anything from it.